The Nutley, NJ woman who became infamous for her love of tanning—evinced by her dark brown, rather crispy-seeming skin—was not indicted by a grand jury on charges that she allegedly endangered her young daughter by taking her to a tanning salon. Patricia Krentcil, 44, had long insisted that her daughter was never on the tanning bed with her and blasted her critics last night, "What this world did in this past year was make a mockery of me, and I don't appreciate that." Still, she liked that SNL skit...
The world's acquaintance with Krentcil began last May when a NJ school nurse notified authorities, concerned over a sunburn on Krentcil's daughter's leg. The daughter, who is very fair, told the nurse that she got it "tanning with Mommy." Krentcil was arrested for child endangerment, but claimed that her daughter just got a bad sunburn. Her NJ tanning salon also said they would never allow children into a tanning booth and added that Krentcil's burnt look was the result of self-tanner.
Yesterday, the Essex County Prosecutor's office said, "We presented all the available evidence in the case to the grand jury, both the state’s evidence and the defense’s evidence. The grand jurors voted not to indict Mrs. Krentcil. We respect their decision." Krentcil was triumphant and very angry when reporters clamored to her home:
Krentcil has appeared at a NYC drag show (where she seemed very intoxicated) and has stopped tanning as much. More recently, she's been discussing a move to London: "To me, London is the perfect place. Nobody will know us and, unlike in New Jersey, I think people are more educated and less small-minded." She also said she would pursue work in modeling.
